Fay Aucoin: Helping our staff get home safe, every day

May 2022 - For Fay Aucoin, Occupational Health & Safety Advisor at Cenovus Energy, every day is about preventing workplace injuries and keeping her colleagues safe. Based in Lloydminster, Fay partners with her colleagues to consider health and safety concerns, ensures changes to processes are made where necessary, develops necessary documentation applicable to the work being done and promotes a positive safety culture. Her work embodies Cenovus’s approach to safety — valuing safety above all else and working hard to ensure its reinforced in every decision she makes.

“My job is all about keeping people safe while at our Lloydminster operations,” says Fay. “As an industry, we’re always looking for ways to do things better and that includes making sure we have effective safety standards and processes to underpin everything we do, every single day.”

Fay first discovered her passion for safety during her time as a Captain with the Canadian Army Reserve. She was a Standards Officer, running the artillery and air weapons ranges where any lapse on safety protocols could mean the loss of life. After leaving the army, Fay worked in a variety of fields developing world-class safety programs and learning tools focused on the impact of positive safety cultures. If there’s one thing Fay has learned so far in her career, it’s that improving processes is extremely important — a standard she personally holds as well.

“Last year, I received my Canadian Registered Safety Professional designation and I’m currently working on the American equivalent, the Certified Safety Professional certification,” explains Fay. “My background in a variety of safety fields combined with my education allows me to analyze what we’re doing and make recommendations on how we can improve. My expertise is valued and sought after, which shows Cenovus’s strong commitment to safety and continuous improvement.”

For Fay, improvement is about having meaningful conversations, listening for opportunities to enhance our processes and building trust and relationships. Her daily goal is to spend more time in the field talking with workers than in her office on any given day.

“Creating documentation is easy, but it will only be effective if it can be applied on the job,” says Fay. “Truly understanding the work that’s happening at the field level and putting that knowledge into a standard or procedure is what the end user really needs.

“It’s a great feeling to be part of a team and a company that really cares. Cenovus’s commitment to workers and their families is that they return home safe, every day. And my commitment is that I’ll do everything I can to continue to make that happen.”